Wylie ISD homes rented for less per-square-foot than the previous month and were leased at the same pace as single-family homes in the Abilene ISD.

To give context, one should note that July 2015 rents saw a 13-month peak in rent-per-square-foot. August’s decrease brings rent-per-square-foot closer to the 12-month average of 86¢ per-square-foot realized for Wylie ISD rentals. Abilene ISD rentals leased at 72¢ per-square-foot or 2¢ more than their 12 month average. Town wide, rent-per-square-foot was up in August by a penny with gains realized in 79602 and 79606. Rents remained flat in 79603 while rent in 79601 and 79605 fell against the prior month and dropped by 5% against the 12-month average for those areas.

This overview utilizes NTREIS data on leased properties in Abilene, Texas. This data provides 13 months of data spanning August 2014 to August 2015, allowing the user to look across these months at changes in rental prices, days on market and inventory available town wide, both by school district and by zip code. The percentage changes calculated in this table compare the current month’s statistics to an average of the last 12-months and the data from the same month in the 2014.

In August, there was little spread in the number of days vacant when compared between ZIP codes and school districts. On average, homes in 79602 rented in 16 days while homes in 79605 and 79606 remained on the market the longest, leasing in 24 days. When compared to leases contracted 12 months prior, homes leased faster in 79601, 79602, 79603 and 79605. Homes in 79606 leased in August 2015 leased 13 days slower than August 2014. There was only a 1-day difference between the pace at which Abilene ISD and Wylie ISD homes were leased in August 2015.

Both pet and security deposits increased in August 2015. Pet deposits rose well above both their 12-month average and deposits in August 2014. Total rents rose relative to the previous month, but were down from their 13-month high seen earlier in the summer in June 2015.

According to NTREIS, 67 single-family homes were leased in August 2015. This is 9.4% gain over August 2014. Regarding the homes used to develop these statistics: in the past, at attempt was made to use information for duplexes, triplexes and townhouses. Due to inconsistencies in the way agents report the square footage of these units, assumptions had to be employed to obtain parity between these property classes and single-family homes.

The decision was made to eliminate this subjectivity and focus exclusively on single-family homes. To ensure comparability over the 13 months represented, all data in the table makes that assumption. If the user compares this table to previous tables, a significant difference in leased units will be seen because only single-family homes are considered.

These 67 units leased at, on average, 77¢/sf and sized at 1,423 square feet, these leases are estimated to deliver a August 2015 value of $73,685 to the Abilene economy. Considering the coming 12 months and the leases executed during August 2015, these leases potentially account for a $884,214 annual contribution to Abilene’s economy.